This invention relates to a munition rack that is suspended below an aircraft to carry munitions such as bombs and, more particularly, to a munition rack that may be readily converted to carry different types of munitions.
A munition rack is supported from a hard point on the underside of a wing or fuselage of a military aircraft. The munition rack is provided with at least one bomb ejector or missile launcher onto which is loaded the conforming munition. The bomb ejector or missile launcher controllably deploys munitions. In some cases, the munition rack includes only the mechanism required to achieve the mechanical deployment of the munition.
Bombs were traditionally provided as conventional or xe2x80x9cdumbxe2x80x9d gravity bombs, which were aimed by setting the flight path of the aircraft and which, after dropping, had no capability to be controlled independently. An increasing trend is to employ munitions with in-flight programmable intelligence and the ability to be controlled after being dropped so that they may be guided toward the target independent of the flight path of the aircraft that dropped them. These bombs are generally termed xe2x80x9csmartxe2x80x9d bombs. Examples include bombs initially designed as smart bombs such as the Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), or conventional bombs that are converted to have a controllability function and thence serve as smart bombs, such as bombs converted with the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) kit. The higher production cost of these smart bombs relative to conventional bombs is usually offset by their greater efficiency as a result of much greater accuracy, the ability to precisely hit targeted locations, the reduction of collateral damage, and the greater survivability of the launching aircraft.
The introduction of smart bombs has complicated the design of the munition rack. The conventional bombs generally had an aerodynamic shape and cylindrical symmetry about their elongated axes. The newer xe2x80x9csmartxe2x80x9d bombs such as the JSOW may be provided with a wider frontal profile and flight surfaces (i.e., small wings) which are deployed after jettison which aids in their gliding for longer distances. These geometric differences result in the need to provide multiple types of munition racks for different missions that may involve conventional bombs and smart bombs. Additionally, the munition rack for the smart bomb must be able to contain certain of the in-flight programming electronics for the smart bomb, which electronics stays with the aircraft after the bomb is launched. The multiple types of munition racks required for the different missions add greatly to the costs of the aircraft systems and the complexity in field logistics support and movement.
There is a need for an improved approach to aircraft munition racks to accommodate the needs of different types of conventional and smart munitions. The present invention fulfills this need, and further provides related advantages.
The present invention provides a munition rack that is capable of carrying and providing electronics support for smart munitions and for conventional weapons as well. The munition rack may be readily interconverted between a configuration that carries wide-profile munitions and narrow-profile munitions, with its space efficiently used so as to carry the maximum number of each type of munition. In one embodiment, the munition rack of the invention makes use of prior munition racks for part of its structure. The older munition racks are thereby used in a new role, so that they are not obsoleted, and the total cost of the new munition rack is reduced as compared with the cost for an entirely new structure.
In accordance with the invention, a munition rack comprises a center strongback having a front and a back located along a longitudinal axis of the center strongback, a top with an aircraft attachment hookup structure thereon, a bottom, and a first outboard end and a second outboard end each spaced apart from the longitudinal axis of the center strongback along a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the center strongback. Desirably, the center strongback is hollow and includes an electronics bay therein. A first munition deployment structure is affixed to the first outboard end of the center strongback. The first munition deployment structure includes a first munition deployer having a first munition deployer transverse midpoint. A second munition deployment structure is affixed to the second outboard end of the center strongback. The second munition deployment structure includes a second munition deployer having a second munition deployer transverse midpoint. The center strongback, the first munition deployment structure, and the second munition deployment structure are preferably dimensioned such that the distance between the first munition deployer transverse midpoint and the second munition deployer transverse midpoint is preferably at least about 19 inches, more preferably at least about 21 inches, and most preferably from about 21 to about 24 inches. At least one additional munition deployment structure is selectively affixed to the bottom of the center strongback. Each additional munition deployment structure is affixed to the center strongback at an inboard location intermediate between the first outboard end and the second outboard end. At least one of the munition deployers is preferably a bomb ejector, and in a most preferred embodiment all of the munition deployers are bomb ejectors.
The first munition deployment structure preferably comprises a first-munition-deployment-structure secondary strongback, and the first munition deployer affixed to the first-munition-deployment-structure secondary strongback. The first-munition-deployment-structure secondary strongback is preferably hollow and includes an electronics bay therein. The first-munition-deployment-structure secondary strongback may have a skewed hexagonal cross-sectional shape. In a preferred embodiment, the first munition deployment structure comprises a first secondary strongback and one of the munition deployers from a type BRU-42 or a type TER-9A triple ejection rack.
The second munition deployment structure preferably comprises a second-munition-deployment-structure secondary strongback, and the second munition deployer affixed to the second-munition-deployment-structure secondary strongback. The second-munition-deployment-structure secondary strongback is preferably hollow and includes an electronics bay therein. The second-munition-deployment-structure secondary strongback may have a skewed hexagonal cross-sectional shape. In a preferred embodiment, the first munition deployment structure comprises a second secondary strongback and one of the munition deployers from a type BRU-42 or a type TER-9A triple ejection rack.
The present munition rack has sufficient spacing between the first munition deployer and the second munition deployer that it may receive JSOW 1000 pound-class bombs on each of the first and second munition deployers, which in this case are bomb ejectors. No additional munition deployment structure is used in this case. However, if smaller bombs such as the 500-pound class JDAM bombs or conventional 500-pound class Mk82 bombs are used, three of these bombs may be carried on the first, second, and additional munition deployers. In some cases, if a short bomb is used, multiple ones of the munition deployers may be positioned in pairs, one behind the other.
An important benefit of the preferred embodiment is that the existing type BRU-42 or TER-9A strongbacks and bomb ejectors may be used as building blocks for the present munition rack. A great many of these type BRU-42 and TER-9A strongbacks and bomb ejectors have been manufactured and are in inventory and available for use on military aircraft. These type BRU-42 or TER-9A strongbacks and bomb ejectors become the secondary strongbacks and bomb ejectors in the present approach, and therefore remain in service and need not be discarded. The cost of the present munition rack is thereby significantly reduced as compared with the cost of a bomb ejector design that uses entirely new components.